#StandWithGunny

Save The Gunnison Sage-Grouse From Extinction

This is Gunny. Gunny is one of the last remaining Gunnison sage-grouse in the world. Gunny and his friends once ranged widely across southwest Colorado and Utah. Today, however, they occupy just 10% of their historic range, and number fewer than 5,000. Without our help to protect their habitat this iconic symbol of our western heritage could become extinct in our lifetime.

40% percent of current Gunnison sage-grouse habitat is on public lands managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The BLM manages this land for multiple uses, including one that has proven extremely detrimental to Gunny – oil and gas development. The drilling, roads, traffic, lights, sound, and pollution caused by oil and gas development fragments habitat, destroys mating and nesting grounds, and disrupts the fragile balance of the sagebrush ecosystems. Gunny is a tough bird, but he can’t stand up to that kind of pressure.

We’re taking our Gunny advocacy to the courts

We have filed a lawsuit – along with our friends at San Miguel County, the San Juan Citizens Alliance, and Conservation Colorado – against the Trump administration for its decision to lease public lands for oil and gas development without properly considering the environmental impacts. The Colorado BLM unlawfully sold 10 parcels for development in or adjacent to important Gunnison sage-grouse habitat during the March 2017 lease sale.

Oil and gas development in this area will negatively impact the threatened Gunnison sage-grouse and the leks used for the bird’s unique courtship displays.

Take action to protect critical habitat

The BLM is currently in the process of updating its land-use plans to include improved safeguards for Gunnison sage-grouse. Through this process we have the opportunity to protect key habitat that is crucial to the survival of this species.

Please take action to ask the BLM to protect critical habitat for Gunnison sage-grouse. These actions will protect more than 93,834 acres of the most important habitat for six small and incredibly vulnerable populations of Gunnison sage-grouse in Southwest Colorado. Protecting these sub-populations will help preserve the genetic diversity of the species, and safeguard against catastrophic events that could wipe out the whole species.

By taking action, you will help to ensure that future generations have the opportunity to enjoy watching the Gunnison sage-grouse dance at sunrise, and benefit all of the other species including antelope, songbirds, owls, and coyotes, that call this area home. Go ahead – give Gunny something to dance about!

For more background, a map of the area, and information about the historical habitat of Gunnison sage-grouse, please check out our Toolbox at the bottom of the page.

Whether you have 1 minute, 2 minutes, or enough time to complete our Gunnison Superhero Actions, you can make a big difference!

Actions with the Gunny icon are considered high-impact actions and will have a greater direct impact than other actions.

Example posts:The Gunnison sage-grouse was designated as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act in 2014. Right now, we are uniquely poised to protect some of their critical habitat which could lead to their recovery! Please, BLM, protect the six small populations of Gunnison sage-grouse living outside of the Gunnison Basin in the next RMP. I #StandWithGunny.

BLM, please implement the improvements recommended by the biologists at Rocky Mountain Wild and their partner organizations to improve the Resource Management Plan. The plan must adopt conservation measures that are at least as protective as those adopted for the closely related Greater sage-grouse. I #StandWithGunny.

Gunnison sage-grouse are an important part of the ecosystem in southern Colorado. When we protect habitat for Gunny, we also protected habitat for many other animals and plants, including elk, deer, pronghorn, bighorn sheep, songbirds, and rare flowers. BLM, please protect Gunny habitat in and outside of Gunnison County! I #StandWithGunny.

Dance for Gunny: Gunnison sage-grouse are known for their amazing mating dances. Send us a video of your best dance (all types are encouraged: samba, line, tap, interpretive, skate, and of course, Gunnison sage-grouse mating dances). Be sure to include why you #DanceForGunny with statements like, “I am xx from xx, and I dance for Gunny because…” Be sure to email us your YouTube link so we can share it on our social media channels!

Erica Prather has created a great Gunny sage-grouse film that can be shared freely to help inspire others to take action. Check out “Last Chance to Dance” below.

Toolbox

Rocky Mountain Wild’s comments and attachments: A Google Drive folder with Rocky Mountain Wild’s comments to the BLM and attachments.

Survey: Defenders of Wildlife conducted a survey of Colorado voters living in the Gunnison, Montrose, Saguache, and San Miguel counties to see what they thought of Gunnison sage-grouse protections. Here is a PDF of the results.

Background and Talking Points:Download our Word Document with more background about the Gunnison sage-grouse and the areas as well as some talking points that may be of use when writing your letter or postcard.